County of Castile

Kingdom of Castile
Reino de Castilla (Spanish) Regnum Castellae (Latin)
1065–1230
Flag Coat of arms
The Kingdom of Castile in 1210.
Capital		No settled capital
Languages		Castilian, Basque, Mozarabic, Andalusian Arabic
Religion		Roman Catholic majority
Government		Feudal monarchy
King
•	1065–1072	Sancho II (first)
•	1217–1230	Ferdinand III (last)
Historical era		Middle Ages
•	Established	1065
•	Disestablished	1230
Preceded by Succeeded by Kingdom of León Kingdom of Navarre Crown of Castile
Today part of		Spain

The Kingdom of Castile (/kæˈstiːl/; Spanish: Reino de Castilla, Latin: Regnum Castellae) was a large and powerful state on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region. It began as the County of Castile (Condado de Castilla), an eastern frontier lordship of the Kingdom of León in the 9th century. During the 10th century its counts increased their autonomy, but it was not until 1065 that it was separated from León and became a kingdom in its own right. Between 1072 and 1157 it was again united with León, and after 1230 this union became permanent. Throughout this period the Castilian kings made extensive conquests in the southern Iberia at the expense of the Islamic principalities. Castile and León, with their southern acquisitions, came to be known collectively as the Crown of Castile, a term that also came to encompass overseas expansion.

According to the chronicles of Alfonso III of Asturias; the first reference to the name "Castile" (Castilla) can be found in a document written during AD 800. In Al-Andalus chronicles from the Cordoban Caliphate, the oldest sources refer to it as Al-Qila, or "the castled" high plains past the territory of Alava, more south to it and the first encountered in their expeditions from Zaragoza. The name reflects its origin as a march on the eastern frontier of the Kingdom of Asturias, protected by castles, towers or castra.